Thurston Foley
Parentage & Ancestry Born in Cardiff, Wales, as the second son to Leobald and Caroline Foley, Thurston grew up in one of the country's most affluent neighbourhoods, a short walk from Cardiff University where his mother worked as an associate dean. His father held a position in the upper echelons of government, granted to him through family connections and shady backroom deals. The Foleys were an old and aggressively ambitious lineage, and thus no stranger to cutting deals with the less savoury elements of society. Part of this was dealing with a world with powers far greater than that of mortals, and while many Foleys were still oblivious to the fact, the majority of the more successful ones were drawing their power from the Realms Supernal as mages, and worked in concert with each other to further strengthen the bloodline. With such activity in these households, it was not unheard of for entire branches of the family tree to break off and descend into madness, with servants and loved ones unable to cope with the Paradox brought about by the use of magic so close to home. Relatives of these failed offshoots watched not necessarily in dismay, but considered such "pruning" of the family tree in accordance with their survival-of-the-fittest philosophy. Though there had been several documented cases in the past, the mid-1850s brought a concerning increase in the number of werewolves in House Foley. Before then, the majority of those found to be Uratha or wolf-blooded were isolated and killed off, as they were seen to be a weakening of the bloodline. However, as the number of incidents grew, a number of prominent members of the House voiced the opinion that these werewolves were in fact a boon in disguise, and should be used to their full potential. Naturally there were many members who felt otherwise, to the point where blood was spilled over the matter; but to prevent an outright schism, it was agreed that any Foley found to be Uratha would be allowed to live, though with severe prejudice and relegated to a position less than that of a black sheep in the family. These "Black Wolves" of the family, as they came to be called, eventually proved their worth over the generations, but they never lost the stigma they carried with them. It is estimated that there were approximately 25 Uratha Foleys at any given time across the globe. Although not Uratha, Leobald did have the blood of the wolf in him, and so when Thurston underwent his First Change in his mid-teens, it was met not with surprise, but with disappointment and embarrassment that his son would be placed in an even lower standing than himself on the family ladder. Unable to put himself in a position that would risk his hard-earned status with his peers, Leobald gradually removed himself from his son's life, only supporting him financially by putting him through the most prestigious private school in his early years and ensuring him a smooth ride through Cambridge University for his degree in Economics. Recent Times Upon graduation, Thurston was hired by the Von Alder Corporation, a consulting firm specializing in the financial and legal sectors, and subsidiary of the International Eichwalde Conglomerate based in Brandenburg, Germany. He began climbing the corporate ladder, receiving additional training and eventually specializing in business forensics. His work required him to relocate several times, first in Stuttgart, followed by New Delhi, Cape Town, and Hong Kong, spending three or four years in each. It was during his time in Hong Kong that he met Maria Liu, a Taiwanese project architect working for Vaswani Tech, one of Hong Kong's largest telecommunications company. Von Alder was contracted by Vaswani for a two-year period to handle allegations of embezzlement in upper management. As part of this, Thurston and Maria met frequently; both professionally in the boardroom, and less so in the bedroom. Neither would have called it love per se, but each of them had a set of needs and this arrangement suited them sufficiently. It was a connection based on mutual respect, and to them it was as good as any. Thurston never planned on being a father, but the deliverable for all those backroom meetings ended up being a child, because oops what is birth control? I wouldn't know. It had been almost a year and a half since the companies' contract had ended, but the two of them were still seeing each other on a regular basis. Thurston, perhaps blinded with the delusion he could be part of a stable family life, decided to seize the opportunity and proposed. Soon after, the two of them got married to seal the deal. For a time they were content, but it was quickly apparent that this life would never work out for Thurston. The marriage of Thurston and Maria was certainly tumultuous, but they stuck with it for a full twenty years before finally getting a divorce. During that time they produced a total of two children, a son and a daughter. Dunstan, the elder, was a clever kid, but was lazy and unambitious in the eyes of his father, always devoting his spare time playing video games instead of studying. Unable to keep up with the competitiveness of the Hong Kong education system, Thurston arranged for him to be sent to an international boarding school in London at the age of sixteen. Julia, their younger daughter, was a talented musician and has recently been accepted to one of the top music programs in the country. After the divorce, Thurston saw no reason to remain in Hong Kong. When the next opportunity came, he relocated to Von Alder's Canadian branch. The Foley Household Staff Tatyana "Tanya" Volskaya Role: Personal Assistant (Retainer ������) Helena Correia dos Santos Role: Chauffeur (Retainer ����) Agatha Ziegler Role: Cook (Retainer ����) Zoputan Ogundimu Role: Bodyguard (Retainer ������) Eleanora "Ellie" Lacroix Role: Bodyguard (Retainer ������) Sanjay Mondatta Role: Mentor (Mentor ������) Other Gifts & Merits Resources ���������� Status: Corporate Executive ������ Renown: Cunning ������ Know Name �� Sense Weakness �� Rite of Dedication �� Category:Characters